Twisted Grave Grey's Anatomy & Bones crossover
by gleekymcgrey
Summary: A set of bones are found in the deepest woods of Seattle, and one, or two Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital doctors are the murderers. And who else is gonna be there? The FBI guy and the Forensic Anthropologist.
1. New Dangers, New Adventures

Twisted Grave.

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><p><strong>AUTHOR's notes ;) <strong>

**hiyaa, thanks for giving my fic a chance! :D Kindleh review, bad or good. Swear, I wanna hear it from yaa. 3 lovelotss! I'll post the second chapter along with this as a sort of a sample.**

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><p>The sun was merely up. It was another cold Seattle morning. It was past six, but there wasn't a hint of sunlight. It was raining, really really hard. Doctors of some sorts came in for their duties, and as soon as they got there, the patients flooded in as well.<br>Their day went off at the busy foot, with early emergency cases and multiple urgent surgeries to be done, it almost felt like they really had to use the energy they had saved up over the night.

The sirens howled, and it was heard all over the hospital's premises. People squinted at the red lights they gave off, and some watched as the paramedics unloaded injured people. It was one hell of a morning.

Callie hovered, back, and forth. She had been temporarily in-charged of the ER. "Trauma Room 1, go go, go!" she shouted, as another stretcher came in, with a teen girl soaked in her own blood.

"We'll need you here, Dr. Torres." Hunt, an army guy slash trauma god told her. Three residents followed his way to a trauma room, and as soon as Callie had a free moment, she went in to check on a patient, who looked like she suffered multiple broken bones.

It went on, and on, the crowding of patients seemed to be never ending.  
>Yang, Avery and Altman joined teams, Kepner, Robbins and Stark took care of the injured children.<br>Shepherd and Grey, dealed with the head traumas, Little Grey, Karev and Sloan with the burn victims, and Bailey and the chief, and the others worked on the internal hemorrhages.

Eventually, the patients were transported to ORs. Though there were some mortalities, more people were saved. For whatever it was worth, it was the good part.

A few hours passed by, and came noon. Most of the surgeons just came out of their surgeries, some went on with charting, a few more others volunteered in the clinic, and some, took a moment to breath in the cafeteria.

"Jeez, this coffee is exactly what I need right now.!" April exclaimed, leaning against the back rest of the chair. She took another sip, and did the exact same thing. Lexie snorted, and prefered to have a decent breakfast and a juice box.

Meredith and Alex were on the next table, doing the same thing as them. By the double door, she saw Yang come in, with the happiest and most fulfilled look in her eyes.

"Hey Mer, look at Cristina. Who smiles after a huge trauma wave, huh?" Lexie leaned in closes to Meredith's ear, and Meredith responded with an agreeing chuckle.

"She's Cristina. Why would you be surprised, Lexie?" Meredith whispered back. They watched Cristina by the door, and wondered why she didn't leave that spot. "Hey Cristina!"-she called out to her dark and twisty soulmate.

Cristina looked their way and waved. Then she held up her hand, showing them a "wait-a-minute" gesture. Then she pointed outside, grinning like she knew something interesting that they didn't. They looked at the spot Cristina pointed, and there they saw two people, a man and a woman. They were talking to chief Webber, about a really serious matter. The man was in a suit, like he worked for a secret detective firm. The lady, wore jeans and an expensive looking blouse underneath a curduroy coat.

"What are they?" Alex blurted out, while he munched on some fries and sipped on his daily dose of coffee.

Lexie and April moved to Alex's and Meredith's table, while they studied the two strangers. "I suppose they're FBI guys of some sorts." April guessed.

"Wh..why would they speak to chief?" Lexie asked.

April shook her head, "I have no idea. Let's ask Yang later. She looks like she's enjoying all the stuffs she's hearing."

They watched chief Webber and the two strangers interact. And then, Webber stepped insie the cafeteria with his companions. He found them, and he led them to their table. "He's coming this way." -April said worriedly.

"Chill up, you didn't do anything, right? Why would you be worried." Alex told her.

Webber waved at them, and the man and the woman followed behind him. "Goodmorning."-he greeted warmly.

They all stood, straight and still. "Morning chief. Uhm, you need something?" Meredith spoke, to break some wall of silence.

"Yes, yes. Ahh, let me introduce to you, Special Agent Seeley Booth from FBI-" he said, he showed his badge and nodded with a smile in greeting. The waved back in reply. "-and Dr. Temperance Brennan, from the Jeffersonian Institute." On the other hand, the woman turned out to be the opposite of the agent guy. She stared, and looked like she was studying them already.

"What are they doing here, chief?" April asked.

Booth cleared his throat, and stepped in closer. "You can call me Agent Booth, and this is my partner, Dr. Brennan. We just came to ask you if you have a pal who's been missing like, four days ago?"

They exchanged looks, and shook their heads. "Nah," they said in chorus.

"Uhm, exactly Thursday, between midnight and six in the morning. Are you sure you're not missing any people around here?" Brennan stepped in, and asked the doctors.

Brennan drew circles around their heads, which drove Alex to point at Brennan, while he stared at the agent guy. "Man, your girlfriend is confusing me, you know." -and he finished off with a chuckle.

Chief Webber shot him a look, and Alex shut his mouth tightly. Booth and Brennan exchanged looks, and went back to looking at Alex. "We're not in love-" Brennan said, and as the others talked about how clumsy their pal got, she whispered into Booth's ear. "Why would people always think we're a couple or sleeping together?"

"I'm sorry for that, Dr. Brennan." Chief Webber apologized in behalf.

Booth nodded, "It's fine. We totally get it, you know."

"We're leaving now, thanks for the time Chief, we'll get back to you as soon as we get the identification. Keep in touch." Brennan said, and together with her partner, they left the premises.

"Sorry, chief. We also thought they had a thing, you know, like Shepherd and Grey..." April said, and chief Webber shot at her as well. He shook his head, and left. As soon as he was nowhere near, Cristina came to her pals.

"April and Alex both got chief embarassed."-Meredith laughed, and Lexie laughed with her.-"Alex said the woman was the agent's girlfriend, to the agent's face." she added.

"Oh my, don't be so careless boy." Cristina broke into laughter. Then after a short moments of laughter, Cristina recomposed herself, and sat down. They all sat down after her. "You know the woman is very very smart. Smarter than anyone that I know so far. She doesn't even act normal, cause she is genius." Cristina praised.

"Yeah, we saw that. I've read her books." Lexie said, "-she's an athropologist. One of the bests in the world."

Meredith smirked. "So that's what you have been grinning about earlier? The smartness?"

Cristina nodded.

"Well she was a hot anthropologist. And I don't believe that there's nothing going on between that FBI guy." Alex insisted. "-do you?"

April snorted, "Since when did you have interest in gossip, Karev?"

"Since you decided to sleep with Stark, Kepner." he shot back, with his infamous Karev smirk. Meredith grunted, and punched Alex's arm playfully. "Both of you stop. Don't you realize this might be something serious? FBI guys aren't our usual guests. Last time I saw them was the day of the shooting." she added.

Lexie turned to her, "So you think someone's been dead?"

"Oh jeez. Hell yes, maybe someone's BEEN killed. That was why-" April said, with all the unnecessary hand gestures.

Meredith nodded. "That explains the questions."

**-oOo-**

"Any clues on who our victim might be?" Cam asked, as Booth and Brennan walked into the lab.

Booth shook his head, "Not a clue. Looks like our victim didn't have any friends in that place. No one seemed to miss her, you know. All that stuff."

Cam nodded, with a hint of pity feeling in her eyes. "Angela is working on the facial reconstruction. But you know, maybe she doesn't work there. It's impossible that nobody noticed that she's been missing for four days."

"I'm pretty sure she does. She was wearing the same material on their scrubs, wore the same material in their IDs, uhm, and the coat she was wearing when we found her had 'SGMWH' on it. Angela just identified it, about six minutes ago." Brennan told them.

Booth nodded, "There's a possibility she was a some kind of a loner. Worked her way from day to day. Or, she was a pain in the ass, and nobody liked her. One of those people there murdered her."

"It's our job to unearth whatever is needed to be known." said Cam.

Brennan indicated agreement with her eyes. Though Cam could tell there was something else. "Why would people always think me and Booth are a couple? Or if not, sleeping partners? We are not in love. Right, Booth?"-and she blurted it out. She looked over to Booth, and he just nodded slightly.

"Oh really." Cam said. -"Cause If I didn't know you, I'd think you're married."

"Dr. Brennan, the bones are all set up." Miss Wick, Sweets' fiance, and Brennan's cranky intern showed up out of nowhere. "-Did I interrupt something? I am so so sorr-"

"No Miss Wick, nothing. Let's go check the bones. See you later, Booth." Brennan quickly said, and left all the unanswered questions and unknown feelings behind her.

Booth sighed, and so did Cam. Just after a few moments, Booth's phone rang. He pulled the device from his pocket, pressed the tiny green button, and held it to his ear. "Agent Booth, speaking."

"It's Chief Webber, Agent Booth. I have a list of some people who hadn't checked in for the last couple of days, just what you asked for." the voice said. A smile crept up the corner of Booth's mouth as he listened.

-"oh, yeah. Thanks chief. We will come and get it later today. We appreciate it."

"Of course. I'll see you around." and they hung up. Booth looked over at Cam, wearing a grin that he always wore when he got something.

"It's the Chief of Surgery. He has a list of the doctors and nurses who did not show up in the last few days. I'll ahh, go get Bones, Cam. See you later." he walked off but Cam had a plan.

"Hey Booth, wait up." She called out, and followed him. Booth stopped, and turned around. "Seattle is quite far from here. Why don't you and Brennan pack some stuffs enough for a week's use and you know don't come back here till you have to. It'd be easier that way."

Booth analyzed the setting Cam told him. A week without anyone but his partner. He thought it could be a time for him to tell her how he really felt about her. He nodded, "Yeah okay. I'll go tell Bones." and left Cam, heading his way out to Brennan's office with a grin on his face he couldn't bring to take off her face.

-oOo-

"Hey," Meredith said, as she came across her husband, the ever dreamy Derek Shepherd. She admitted to herself, she still had to think about how she, and this perfect man ended up together. He smiled as she called out, and he immediately planted a feather light kiss on her cheek. Apparently, he just couldn't get enough of her. "-have you met the FBI guys?" she asked, giggling as Derek went on pleasuring her on a uncrowded part of the hospital.

Derek looked at her, shaking his head. "Richard didn't mention anything to me." he answered. Meredith placed a had on his face, and looked at him deeply with her brilliant blue eyes.

"Well I think somebone's been mudered or something. 'Cause they've been asking for names of employees who works here in the hospital, who's been missing for the last four days. They were no-nonsense people, I tell you. Especially the doctor one, she's very cold. Like Cristina cold, minus the goofiness and the talk."

Derek smirked, amused at how 'cute' his wife can be at times when she shares about her day. "Hmm, what I think is, It's none of our business. If someone's been really killed, we'll know soon."

"Hmm, yeah. You're right. I hope everything's fine. I mean, there can't be any room for murderers here. Not anymore." She mumbled, looking down at the cold floor. Derek sighed, feeling his wife's scares and pain. It's been two years already since 'that' day, and the staring and talking about them has gone down, but God knows, the memories of it hasn't left anybody. He doubted that it would pass.

He took her into his arms, wrapping her around his warmth. "I know. No room for murderers."  
>Moments of pure warmth, that feeling of security underneath his arms, and the sound of their hearts beating as one. Not one moment of her life, she thought about ending up with someone like him. A husband who loved her, and whom she loved back so dearly. Derek was the only person she trusted her life and heart with. If he leaves in any way, she'd be gone, and she swore, she wouldn't make an effort starting new.<p>

Sad enough, that perfect moment had to be broken by a page. They pulled away, and Meredith reached for her device. "Not mine," she said, with a relieved sigh. She had been working long hours, and a minute of rest was much much needed. Derek sighed, and took his pager from his coat. "Yeah, I have to go. Uhm, I'll see you around 'kay." He said, and kissed her briefly before running to get to where he was paged.

Meredith watched as he went away. _What If I lose him again? No, no. I won't. Never_. The same thoughts that kept her awake at night.

**-oOo-**

"Cam has a point. It would make it very difficult for both us, especially you since you'll be the one steering the wheel, if we go back and forth from D.C to Seattle." Brennan told him, while she cautiously studied the remains that were found in the farthest part of some woods.

Booth nodded, as he killed the time looking at the bones. He tried to understand, but he just couldn't. Yet, his sexy, not to mention, beautiful partner seemed to look at the bones like some comic strips. She totally understood which is which, what this meant and what that meant. "Okay, so we must go now. We have to be there in the morning already."

"Yes, I know." she replied subconsciously. _No signs of torture_. Most of her mind was focused into the bone fragments. And Booth, had no intention in distracting her in any way possible. "I'll ask Wendell to spend the next few days here. Since I know he's been needing the extra financial support to pay his student loans."

"Wow, that is very nice of you, Bones. Atta girl!" he exclaimed, loud enough to make her turn her head on him, with her 'you-don't-have-to-yell' look in her eyes. "Sorry, come on. Chop, chop Bones. Clark and Wendell will look after your babies while we're gone."

He walked over to her, and put a hand on her lower back, and she remove her gloves, stepping away from the bones. "But I don't have any babies. What are you talking about?" she asked, clueless as ever. When Booth only stared, she nodded, and let a smile slip though her seemingly perfect mouth.

"Right, right. The bones are my babies. Too literal?" she said, and they both shared a chuckle.


	2. Everything's Fine, Really

CHAPTER TWO ;)

Hey hey :) Sorry if I get this wrong. Cause I don't know how much time it would take to travel from D.C to Seattle, so yeah. I made all the travel time up. :)) Let's just pretend it is what it is. 3 Anywaaaay, REVIEWS would be much appreciated! Reviews are the fuel for writing so yeah,thank you.

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The speakers were turned up too loud, you wouldn't hear a thing. Meredith always hated it when her mother's house would turn out to be a freaky party place. As Derek pulled up in the parking space, she couldn't wait until she finds out who was making such a disturbing noise.

Derek noticed how fidgety Meredith got. He smirked, and moved closer to his side, and whispered. "Calm down, the house isn't gonna blow up."

She grimaced, and rolled her eyes. "My house is not a club. If they wanna party, they can go somewhere else!" She yelled, with all the facial expressions he had learned to love. Derek put a hand on her face, and that one touch, sent some jolts of electricity all throughout her body, miraculously calming her down. Derek plastered a victorious grin, and she could only smile back. "-you on me over." she mumbled.

"I know I did." Derek replied back as he unlocked the doors. "-we'll go straight to our bedroom, not minding all the things they do inside. 'kay?"

Meredith nodded, and looked back at the house."Right, okay."

Derek had his hand on her waist, as if he was going to pull her if something happens on their way inside. As they neared the house, the music eventually went softer. Meredith peeked through the door, trying to get some faces. There were the usual house buddies, Avery, April, Lexie and Alex.

"It's them. Having some kind of a happy time." Meredith told Derek.

Derek grinned, and went inside. Meredith followed him. They all turned to Derek, who only told them to go on, and immediately went upstairs. As far as they knew, he had four surgeries, and a load of paperwork. Meredith came to picture, ad immediately, April gave her her share of tequila. She almost took it, before she remembered she wanted to have a child as soon as possible.

"So what's new about the FBI guys?" Meredith quickly joined in. Alex shook his head, and drank the remaining contents of his canned beer. April sat opposite to Meredith, her eyes gleaming with such excitement. "-tell me, April." Meredith said, as if she was ordering a messenger to tell her what she found out today.

"So, I've heard. Human remains were found in the woods."-they all gasped at the horror of what April was telling them, but wnet on listening anyway.-"And not just human remains. Decayed, like all bones. The FBI guys, they're on the case. The woman, is from the Jeffersonian Institute. They took the bones there, studying the cause of death and everything." April mused, as she spoke.

"Who might the 'bones' be?" Avery asked. He looked around, and they all had the same, puzzled look.

April shook her head, "They said the woman and her interns in the Jeffersonian are still trying to find out." she said. Another bottle came in, and soon enough, it was already empty as each of them poured in except Meredith.

"But why are they trying to investigate us? How do they know the person belongs to us?"-Lexie asked. She turned to Meredith, who then turned to April. She cleared her throat, "The bones they found was wearing scrubs, and she had a ruined I.D on her. It's really scary you know."

Meredith felt her heart jump. So she was right about the murder. She was just so scared, that the killer migarht find a way to her, or to Derek, or to any of her people.

~~~~~~~~3~~~~~~~~~~~3~~~~~~~~~~

First thing in the morning, Booth showed up in Brennan's place to pick her up for their trip. They decided to use his car, so they won't have to travel separately. He knocked, knock after knock. It was twenty minutes after six. If they leave now, they'd be in Seattle by noon.

"Bones, wakey wakey!" Booth called out from the outside of her apartment. He knocked, and rang the doorbell as fast as he could. It would be the only way to get Brennan into action. He leaned his ear against the door, thankful he could already hear footsteps heading towards him.

She opened the locks, and swung the door open. Booth was so surprised, she was all set. He thought he'd be waking her up from her sweet sleep. "Oh, you're ready. Look at that." He chuckled. She rolled her eyes, and let him inside.

"Sorry, I was in the bathroom. Changing." she muttered, all the while packing some 'Squints' stuff in a miniature travelling bag. Booth held up an upside thumb, along with his Boothy grin. "It's fine, Bones." he said back to his partner.

He couldn't bring to imagine how gorgeous she was. She didn't look like a hardcore scientist at all. In fact, she always managed to look her best without even trying. He saw her pick out some clothes from the rack randomly, and when she changed into it, it looked so pretty. Today, Brennan went for a sleeved dress, black with orange details, and dark stockings for the cold underneath it.

"Are these your stuffs?" Booth asked, as he came over to a huge bag on the side of the couch. Brennan turned, and nodded. She pointed to one more bag beside the dining table, about half the size of the big one. "Yes, I need to make sure I have my important things with me, since we won't be coming back for the next few days, and without an access to a lab, it would be difficult to study the bones, in case the FBI in Seattle would find the missing bone fragments."

Booth only nodded, after he heard his partner explain the extra loads. "Okay, so you hurry up and I'll take your bags with me. We'll have breakfast on the road 'kay Bones?"

"Alright, but remember you promised to pay for our next meal together." She said, serious as ever.

Booth chuckled, and took the bags by the door. "Yeah Bones, sure." he said, and shut the door behind him. He shook his head, with a smile on his mouth. Though she could be a pain sometimes, Booth couldn't imagine solving murders without her anymore. She was the best partner he could ever ask for.

"I'll be right down. I just need to load more instruments."

He nodded, and went for the elevator. He stepped in, and pressed the 'parking' button. He thought he made a wise choice for parking his SUV nearest to the elevator. Cause he knew Brennan too well, and sure he knew she would have a hard time taking her stuffs down the building, and he'd be there to help.

As soon as his elevator reached the parkiing floor, and found his car right next to a gold Ford, he immediately loaded Brennan's baggage on the back of the vehicle. Just as he was finished, Brennan came out on the elevator, five cars apart from where he was.

Even from a distance, he could make out her porcelain-like features. And her clear, gray eyes seemed to glow against the dark setting of the parking lot. As she neared him, he couldn't help but stare, in the purest way possible. Her hair was nicely kept in a pony, and her dress fell perfectly just above her knees. She looked beautiful, and she wasn't even trying.

It seemed like he was lost for too long, he didn't even notice she was right in front of him. "Booth." She stood, waving a hand to his face.

He came to his senses eventually, and jumped when he realized she was right in front of her. He backed away a little, and she couldn't get any curious. Brennan tilted her head, and stared back at Booth, like she's been in that same situation before, and she knew exactly what to do. "I have aspirin, Booth. Or, is it your back that's distracting you from reality?"

Booth chuckled, in an attempt to cover up his little slip-up. He shook his head. "I'm good, I was just thinking about where we could start in solving this case. I-I always do that when I'm just...standing, all by myself. You know, things like that, Bones."

Brenna pouted, like she agreed with him, but did not believe him. Booth knew that look so much. "Okay, well Booth, let's go."

"Yeah yeah of course." Booth said back, and didn't wait for any extra questions from his no non-sense partner.

Brennan, though she didn't want to believe him, she wanted for a broader sense of non-verbal knowledge in her, so she could just study Booth herself. Cause she thought, if she did know how to see right through the Boothy surface, she could tell how he felt for her. How much he wanted to be with her and be there for her. But, she shove all the unnecessary thoughts aside, and said to herself : "Why would he love a cold, hard scientist like me, when he could find some warm and intimate women somwhere else?"

She made herself comfortable in Booth's car seat, and took her bag of food from her smaller bag. She'd take out enough food for herself and Booth. This was going to be a long, long ride.

~~~~~~~~~3~~~~~~~~~~~~~3~~~~~~~~~~~~3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All morning, while she went to see patients who needed consults, MRI, CT scans and all other laboratory procedures, the thought of having another 'Mr. Clark' didn't leave her mind. In fact, it haunted her. Someone killed someone, and she didn't know who he or she was. For most part, she didn't care, but still, she didn't want the murderer to come near Derek, her, or her sister, or any of her buddies, or anyone.

"Dr. Grey, there's another patient down the clinic waiting for your consult." Nurse Kelly, who had worked at SGMWH twenty years next month, called for her. Meredith turned her way, and no matter how hesitant she was, she had no choice. She nodded, with the most pleasant smile she could handle.

She made her way to the elevator, sighing. If she needed to take a short break from her work, it was today. "Nurse Kelly, can you page Dr. Shepherd to the clinic too?" She said as she stopped by the nearby counter. Nurse Kelly nodded, and she smiled back as a 'thank you'.

She waited for the doors to open, leaning against the cold, marble wall. She watched the lights of the controls go up, nearing the surgical floor. When it finally opened, there was Derek. She didn't smile, cause she knew she could be her true self when he's with her. He tilted his head, noticing that something was definitely on her mind that bothered her so much.

"What's wrong?" he grabbed her hand gently, and she stepped into the elevator with him. He put an arm around her shoulder, keeping her real close to him.

Meredith sighed. "Well there's some gossip going around, there was a body found in the woods, all bones, like eaten by bears and other rodents. They say the person's one of us, Derek. Wearing our scrubs, and I.D."

He listened, and he immediately knew why she was so affected by the news. "I'm alright, Mere. And, whoever killed that person, is not going to come near us, 'kay?"-He faced her, with two hands on her cheeks. "-Not anymore, okay. If you like, we can leave until this is all settled."

"No,'' Meredith said, rather hardly. "-I want to know who did this, Derek. I want to see that someone pay for what he or she did."  
>Derek paid close attention, and nodded. She looked deeply into his eyes, and saw so much love, the kind that she couldn't lose for as long as she lived. She buried her face behind his neck, and just that moment, she felt secure. "I just don't want to lose you."<p>

He held her tighter, to try and make her feel he's there for her. "I know, and I should try not to go, Mere. And you have to do the same thing for me."

She nodded slightly, and by the time they reached the clinic, she was fine, and was more than ready to help other people heal. First up, was a seventeen year old of some kind, and Lexie was already beside her. Her sister seemed to be having the hardest time dealing with this 'brat-looking' patient, who might be in a serious trouble.

"Lexie, what's the matter?" Meredith came up behind her, and asked her in the softest way possible. Lexie grunted, and turned to face her, while Derek went to talk to the girl.

"She's the biggest bitch I have ever met. It's insulting she doesn't want me to touch her because I am not a senior resident!" She said to Meredith, with such strong feeling of anger. Meredith sighed, frowned, but kept herself from rolling her eyes.

Then she told Lexie, "You know better, don't you? She's a kid. Clueless as ever."

"Well not so clueless, Big Grey."-she shot some more, "-She literally speaks about adult stuffs she isn't supposed to know about. She thinks she's so smart."

Meredith wanted to get all the crazy thoughts out of her sister's mind, but she found no sense in doing so in the hospital. "Alright, alright. You calm down, Little Grey. Go take a break, we'll handle her, 'kay. Don't worry if she needs surgery, I'll get you."

Lexie sighed in huge relief, "Gosh, thank you."

She watched her leave, and turned back at Derek, who turned out to be busy listening to what the teen said. "hmmh-erm." she cleared her throat, getting both of their attentions. The girl looked irritated by the disturbance she caused her. She came towards them, and checked her vitals.

"What are you here for, Miss-" she asked, and checked her chart for a name. The moment she had a name to call the girl, she was surprised. "-Miss Flack?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" The girl answered. "Beatrice Flack, Bea Flack."

Derek turned out to be just as surprised, and saw no reason why he shouldn't ask for more. "How are you related to Rose?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How much longer, Booth?" Brennan asked, while she watched his partner fill up the gas tank. Booth, on the other hand, was restless. The nozzle was crap, and it kept on jamming the gas. "A little bit more time, Bones." he said, and let the gas guy take over the filling.

"It's crap." he said, coming towards his partner. "Why don't we get some snacks in there? Since I ate all the food that you brought on our way here." Brennan took some time to recall how fast Booth ate those crackers and cakes. Men, and their crazy stomach. She nodded, and he went with her.

Surprisingly, the store was rather pretty, compared to the crappy gasoline nozzles they had outside. An elderly woman stood by the counter, with a warm smile adorning her features. Brennan went for some vitamin water from the fridge, and Booth squeezed his way to the junk food rack. "Hey Bones, would you like some baked potatoes?" he called out, and his voice echoed all throughout the room.

Brennan smirked, at how loud her partner can be. "I want two of 'em, Booth!" She shouted back, and brought two bottles of water, one unflavored, on top of the counter. For not too long, Booth took his food to the woman, three packs of baked potato, two of toasted muffins and two root beers.

"It's going to be only two hours and fifteen minutes till we get to Seattle. Don't you think we've had enough food? That is too much, Booth." She said, looking down at Booth's purchases, comparing the items to hers. Booth shook his head, and took her bottles as well, and paid for them.

"This is our meal, I am paying." he said, and handed the woman fifty bucks, and let her keep the loose change. Booth took all their purchases in his arms, as though keeping it so secure. When they were finally inside his black and shiny SUV, he made sure he got the baked potato to his side, in between him and Brennan.

"Hmm, I miss this. My step sister used to give me her leftovers of baked potatoes." Brennan said, with the most cheerful face she could plaster on her face, while she went for the food Booth bought her. But something in the way she said 'leftovers' hit Booth. Like it was a code for, she had'nt been eating well when she was a kid. When Booth only stared, she asked, "Booth, what's wrong?"

"Really, Bones. Leftovers? Maybe you got the wrong term there-" he said, in a humorous way as not to touch her sensitive side. But she shook her head, disagreeing to what he might say.

"No, really. Leftovers. The kind of food you give to dogs. She was five years older than me, and she was a mean teen back then. When my foster mom bought us food like this, she eats 'em all, leaving tiny bits for me." She talked about her ugly past quite comfortably, because she knew she could trust Booth.

Booth didn't move, 'cause he didn't know what to say back. She was no fragile kind of woman, but at that moment, the hard walls that surrounded and guarded her seemed to be gone. "I'm sorry Bones." he mumbled, not really knowing what she'd say to him next.

She nodded, and smiled at her partner. And to Booth, it was the sweetest, and perhaps the most sincere smile he'd ever seen. Like it was a different Temperance Brennan. "Well, you should be sorry for her too. She's now a jobless mother of three, and wife of a drunk man." she said, and that was so BONES. Booth chuckled, and continued listening to her, as he turned on the engine and started driving. "-and if she was a better sister I'd buy her a small, but decent house and help her in many ways that I can."

"I know you would. And hey Bones, today's when she needs you most, and I'm sure she knows what are you now, and she regrets all the mean things she did to you." He said, and she went silent, pondering on what he told her.  
> <p>


	3. How Did We End Up Here?

**CHAPTER THREEEEE :)**

Please review! Or you can tell me how ya feel about it in my tumblr blog, lexielexieluv or my twitter account : gleekymcgrey

Thanks..

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><p>A pack of teenagers from Russia crowded Joe's. When someone had the balls to ask what they were there for, a naughty, and beautiful redhead said they were on a mission. Of course that was a joke. Meredith, and the rest of the gang circled on a table, fantasizing on the drunk teens. That one would lose her senses, and would stab another with a broken bottle, and another would join in the fight, and they'd bang their heads together, eventually causing brain damage.<p>

"Hoping for injured people is not so good!" April said to them, as serious as she could be. When they kept adding more injuries the teens would have, she rolled her eyes, and drank her soda pop instead.

It was very rare for them to be having lunch outside the hospital. But since they had a two-hour break from their work, eating hospital food got so crashed out from their to-do list. When April grew silent, Alex spoke. "-Oh April's pissed, guys."

She rolled her eyes, "I am not. I'm just not listening to your bad bad thoughts. What kind of people wish other people brain damage?" She said, and eventually they stopped.

But Alex managed to break the ice, "That would be Meredith. So she and McDreamy could get a fancy surgery." And he chukled off at the end. Meredith grinned, and shared a high five from her old pal.

"I wonder what's on the FBI guys' mind right now, though. Jeez, you won't believe how brilliant her mind could be." Cristina said, admiring Brennan's brains for the 100th time this week. Even though they're tired of it, they had no choice but to hear about it.

Lexie rolled her eyes, "Wow, it's really weird listen to you talk about other people's smarts. Most of the time you talk about how awesome you are, Yang."

Jackson nodded, "Yeah , Cardio whore." Cristina didn't mind the side comments, in fact, she was used to it. She snapped at Jackson, taking a sip on his drink, until it was empty. "I am married to Cardio, pretty boy."

"Cardio took her eyebrows away from her." Meredith said, emphasizing Burke on the subject 'cardio'. Cristina didn't mind her dark and twisty saying it, cause she didn't care at all. She had Owen now, and Burke was a pain in the ass she won't ever want to handle.

As the others went asking how she looked like without eyebrows and laughed out, Meredith thought she saw a glance of the FBI guys entering the door. She stopped smiling, and the others noticed. They asked her what was wrong, and she pointed quietlyto the FBI people.

"hot."-was the only word Alex could think of, when he saw the big guy put a hand on the woman's lower back. "-you really think they're not together? Cause I think they are. Who's with me?" He said, raising an arm up in the air, and surprisingly, everybody agreed with him.

Booth left Brennan to get her some real food, aside from the junk they've been munching on their way to Seattle. Alex, who had been single and playing for the last two years, took the chance to get near the woman. But her most avid fan, Cristina Yang, stopped him, insisting that she should talk to her first.

Cristina walked towards her, while her buddies watched. "Hmm, erm. Dr. Brennan?" She asked, and she later realized it was so stupid. Brennan looked up, and met her eyes, cold as ice. "I'm Dr. Yang, a surgeon at SGMWH. I just want to tell you that I've read all your books. They are amazing!"

Brennan smiled back and said briefly, "Thank You." Soon, Booth came back, with a tray of sandwiches and soda. Brennan took her share, without mentioning Cristina. Booth later noticed the woman beside their table, and recognized her as one of the surgeons in the hospital.

"Hey, Yang, right? You took us to the chief's office?" Booth reached out a hand, and Cristina shook it, nodding. "You need anything?"

"Oh, oh nope," -Cristina shook her head, stepping away. "I just needed to tell Dr. Brennan something. But i have to go now. My friends are waiting."

Booth grinned, "Oh okay, sure. See you around." And when the strange, but smart looking doctor was far enough, he turned to Brennan. "What did she say to you?"

"Oh, yeah it was nothing. She was just indicating, that she loves my novels. I am used to the compliments already." Brennan said, as she ate her share of sandwich. He stared, and tried to analyze how it happened.

"And what did you say, Bones?" he said back, taking a big bite on his own food. Brennan narrowed her eyes, just like the 'squints' do, and spoke.

"I said thank you. What else would I say, huh?"

Then Booth answered, -"How did you say thank you?"

Brennan grew irritated, but found no reason to not say to her partner how she said thank you to a stranger. "Let me act it out for you, Seeley." Brennan snapped, and place herself just like when she was talking to Cristina. "-Thank You-" she smiled, and said it in the briefest way possible, like she didn't mind at all.

"Oh Bones, you looked like you didn't mean it," Booth told her, but she didn't seem to care at all. Of course, it didn't make any sense for her.

As Cristina reached where she was sitting, her buddies cooed and teased. And she was obviously pissed. "She's a snob." She mumbled.

"Cause that's what hardcore scientists are like. Well, mostly. They are like that. Look at that FBI guy, he's warm and funny. They're opposites." Meredith said.

Cristina disagreed, "I am hardcore, and she's a million times colder than me." She grunted, and noticed Little Grey, Jackson and Lexie were gone. "-where did the others go?"

"Hospital. They've been paged by Callie. Smelled like trouble."-Alex answered. All along, he stared at Brennan. How she reminded him of some girls of his past, only, she was the colder and smarter version of them.

As time went by, he didn't even stop staring, and Meredith and Cristina let him. Booth, who had extraordinary sniper skills, noticed how Alex stared at his partner, and neither of the three of them knew how protective the FBI guy was.

Booth stared back at him, the cop-ish way. Meredith caught the look, and warned her friend.

"Alex-" she grinned a little, holding his arm, shaking it a bit. "-stop staring or the FBI's gonna come and make you fall under his feet."

Alex turned to Mer, breaking the momentsof staring. "Yeah, well he's not that tough looking. I used to beat cops when I was sixteen."

"Seriously?" Cristina glared. Though the cop looked like he was going to eat Alex alive, he still looked hot. The jealousy, first and foremost, is very hot. _But hey, what are you thinking, Yang. Bad thoughts, bad thoughts._

Not before Alex could stare more, Booth got up rather aggresively from his seat, and Brennan knew he was outraged, but clueless of what caused it. She turned to where he was looking at; the doctors. "Booth, what's happening? Sit down." She ordered, knowing he wouldn't follow, but she ordered anyway.

"That perv is looking at you, Bones. Like really staring." Booth said,_ If you weren't holding my hand right now I'd give that guy a taste of Boothness_. She shrugged, not paying any attention to his concern. "Then let him be, Logically, everyone, anyone is allowed to stare, regardless of their intentions."

Glare. _No, Bones. NOT OKAY._

She tilted her head, convincing him to just drop it. "Come on, we have a case ahead of us. And any minute now, Angela's gonna send in the identity. From there you could search more in the FBI archives."

He sighed, annoyed at himself on how soft he had become. "A'right." He muttered, but didn't sit back down without giving Karev the 'cop' look. Brennan smirked, thankful that she convinced him. She took a quick glance at the guy Booth was reffering to, and back at Booth. From there, she wrinkled her nose, at last getting Booth's point.

"See what I mean there, Bones?" He told her, with such pride that his smart partner, Brennan, agreed. "You stay with me the whole time, 'kay? These people, they look all the same. They're a tight circle. We'll sure have a hard time solving this case."

"We always have a hard time solving cases. Not one case turns out be fit for the meaning of the word 'easy'. Each case is harder than the last, but with my brilliance and your exceptional abilities, we always end up catching the criminal. And of course, also, with Angela, Hodgins and Cam's level of expertise too."

"You're making it sound like we're machines." Booth shot at her, and expected to get what he got from her. Her stern, genius-ish glare. They remained silent for the rest of the meal, focusing only to the plate of food in front of them. Booth finished his order first, and though Brennan didn't want to, he insisted on getting them both some orange smoothies, at least to get their immune systems something.

It was near two o'clock in the afternoon, a sunny one, which they have been grateful for, and the circle of surgeons had left for their duties. The bar seemed to be emptier by the minute, and Brennan was unusually slow on her food.

_She's hiding something._

"If you don't like the food, you can leave it to me, Bones." he offered. She looked up at him, and saw something in her eyes he never get to see everyday. Pure vulnerability. Booth suddenly felt a sharp pang of guilt in his chest, though he wasn't sure what he did wrong.

"Bones, you're tearing up." he said, barely above whisper. Brennan didn't make any efforts trying to deny it. She took a good sip of her orange smoothie, quickly feeling refreshed by the coolness of it, against the heat of the city and her body. "I just can't help but get quite emotional, looking back at the years when my mom and dad used to take me here as a kid. We went to carnivals, eat cotton candy, and ride a bike around the park."

"Do you want to?" Booth asked, trying to put the pieces together in his mind. On their way to the city, they passed by a crowded carnival Brennan knew about. And since then, she seemed to be bothered. She looked up, clueless just like always.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to stop by the carnival?"

The idea, of course, didn't mean a thing to her. It didn't make any sense at all. She took into her mouth the last bite of chicken, and shrugged. "This is not about me." She snapped, and nearly jumped by the vibrating sensation from her phone. She pulled it from her jeans, took a moment to read the caller ID.

"It's Angela," She mumbled, but her interest was really piqued. "-hey Ange,you found something?"

"Yes, sweetie, hello to you too. I've just finished the facial reconstruction. I sent it to your email-" As she listened, she reached for her laptop from its case, and checked her most previous emails from Angela. "-and since I had some time to pull off a name, I ran her face through my facial recognition program through the internet, and found a name-"

Booth moved a chair closer to him for Brennan to sit on. She did so, and downloaded the attachment for the picture. It took merely 6 seconds for Angela's approximate face to come on. "-Rose Flack, thirty years old, and she worked as a surgical nurse at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital." Brennan looked over her shoulder, and smirked at Booth.

"Thanks, Ange. I'll call you again later." she said, and hang up. "We have identity. Let's go back to the car. We can start things off in there."

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><p>It was like a burning torch was lit up inside her, burning her every vein and bone. She tossed and turned all throughout the last few hours she spent in the on call room, and even though she took some painkillers, it didn't quite work very well. Her eyes were so tightly shut, but even so, it didn't help with the almost unbearable pain she was dealing with.<p>

She heard the door open behind her, and whomever it was, she was thankful she could at last ask for help. She heard a gasp, and knew immediately a woman found her. She didn't know what would happen next. She heard footsteps coming her way, and a hand gently made its way to her forehead. Great, now her temperature's going up with the pain.

"Lexie, you're burning."

She opened her eyes, and was more than relieved it was her sister. "It hurts." she croaked in pain, and Meredith tried to think fast. She laid Lexie straight in bed, so she could perform some preliminary examination at the painful spot.

"Tell me where it hurts." She said, very doctor-ish, while she kept a comforting hand on Lexie's. With her good hand, Lexie pointed the spot. "-right here?" She asked the obvious, and poked her flesh slightly. Lexe squirmed in pain, squeezing Meredith's hand only tighter. Then she let her hand go.

Meredith lifted her scrubs just below her bra, and noticed some strange scratches; five to be exact; on the left side of her stomach. By looking at it, it seemed fresh, but days had probably passed since she got it, cause there were apparent signs of healing.

"Tenderness on the McBurney's point, Lexie, this is totally appendicitis." She said as she analyzed more, and the symptoms just got more and more accurate. She stood up, "I'll be back with a stretcher."

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><p>From a few feet, Mark could see Shepherd and Grey, talking to some people he never saw before. He came for Lexie, and it seemed something else was happening other than her surgery. He ran, and the closer he got. Just as he was on his colleague's side, he was panting. Meredith put a hand on his shoulder, knowing what he wanted to know.<p>

"Lexie's alright. Bailey's in there closing her up. She had appendicitis, nothing else." Meredith explained, and his muscles came to an ease. He drew his attention back to the man and woman they were talking to.

"Sorry, I just got carried away-" He managed a smile, and offered is hand to the guy. "-Mark Sloan. Head of Plastics."

Booth accepted his hand, and shook it manly. "Special Agent Seeley Booth, from the FBI and 'tis my partner Dr. Brennan from the Jeffersonian Institute."

Mark nodded, but it was obvious that he was confused. "Okay, ahh, nice meeting you. I'll go ahead and see if Lexie's fine. I may be able to do her suture. You know, she wants it clean and perfect." He boasted, and with the cockiest grin Brennan have ever seen in her entire existence, he went.

Derek only held Meredith tighter, noticing how she trembled while they asked her questions.

"Really, why all the questions? What is going on?" Derek finally interrupted, acting all Alpha male over his wife. Booth understood, and so did Brennan. They exchanged looks, and found no harm in not telling them. After all, they were their current prime suspects.

"Rose Flack, thirty years old, short black hair, caucasian, about 5'6'' tall, worked here as a surgical nurse, who, by the records, had been in thirty seven of your surgeries in 2008, before she went for another field. Her remains were found in the woods, which might be coincientally near your previous trailer home in your land-" Brennan went on.

But they could only hear : _The bones found are of Rose's, and they are prime suspects._

"-that's enough Bones." Booth told his partner. Brennan stopped, and studied both Meredith and Derek's reactions. Rigid as a concrete.

A different kind of chill crept up their spines, and their gazes went from warm to cold upon hearing the truth. "We can't talk about that in here. It's too public."

Meredith squeezed his hand, scared to hell of what was happening, even more distressed thinking of what was to come.

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><p><strong><em>;) I know it's bad, but we have a twist coming up. Keep reviewing. 3<em>**


	4. Today The End Begins

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**Review ;) I'm new at this soo I need to hear whatcha think!**

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><p>Sheer anxiety took over Meredith, she no longer felt like herself anymore. An hour had gone by, and the FBI guys had not come back yet. It was eerily quiet, and even more nerve wrecking without Derek beside her. They insisted on interrogating them individually, and neither one of them fought against these people.<p>

Rose is dead. _How did that happen? Why am I in this mess? Could the killer possibly be one of my people?_

She shook her thoughts away, though she knew deep in her, that a murderer is out there somewhere, and who really knew who was going to get killed next? _Has he stopped killing? Is he repenting on killing Rose? No one knows. I don't know._

Eventually, from out of the blue, Brennan and Booth came in, with folders in their hands, which seemed to her as Rose's files. She straightened on her seat, and braced herself._ I'd get out of this mess._

"Dr. Meredith Grey," Booth greeted sternly, in a cop-ish way. What more could be expected? He was good at his job, and by just the way he said his 'hello' , Meredith knew this wasn't going to be a walk in the park. He sat opposite to Meredith's seat, and laid several folders on the table. Brennan sat beside her partner, and took an earpiece from her purse.

"Wear it, Dr. Grey." Brennan ordered, and Meredith took the earpiece obediently. She promised herself not to be 'her' during interrogations. So she chose to be a puppy. She attached the device onto her ear, adjusting it to her comfort.

Booth took a lime green folder from the pile, and pulled something from it. A picture. Then Booth cleared his throat, "Just how much do you know Nurse Rose, Dr. Grey?"

"Drop the Dr. Grey. I'm alright with just my name." She said, "-well I knew her. But we were not friends."

Booth nodded, and showed her a picture she had never seen before. Several pictures, of Rose and Derek. She was stunned, and even though she knew it was years ago, she still felt a sharp pang in her chest. And her face told it all. "So uhh, Meredith. You are not friends with Rose Flack, but she and your husband turns out to be, what?"

_She was a fling._

She took the pictures, and examined them clearly. "I-I haven't seen these before.'' She admitted, as each image registered into her mind. It was mostly Rose holding on to Derek tightly, like if she lets go of him, he'll break free. Derek looked happy. Contented. "-yeah, they were together. Three years ago. As to what I know, they didn't last long."_ Because she was** just** a fling._

"Why?"

"I don't know. I don't really have to tell you every detail of what happened that year, do I?"

Brennan raised an eyebrow. Just like Booth, she could sense this was going somewhere. A motive for murder. "I'm afraid so, Dr. Grey."

Meredith exhaled deeply. She didn't want to say anything to these people. Not that year. It had been a hard year for her. But then she figured, there's no way out, but to open up to Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan. She stared at a distance, trying to recall the most important details.

"I gotta say, I hated Rose. I really did." she sighed, reliving those times. "Me and Derek, we've been on and off in the first few years that we've been together. Out of nowhere, this scrub nurse turned up out of nowhere, and the next thing I knew, they were dating. I'm not gonna lie. It hurt me. Derek and I worked on a clinical trial on that same times, and-" She trailed off, not quite sure if she wanted to say the corniest thing she had done.

Booth leaned closer, asking her to go on. "-well in the end, our patient turned out to be just fine. And we promised to celebrate in a friendly way, you know, over a glass of wine-" She sighed, but found herself grinning a little. "-but I had another plan."

_That stupid, corny thing._

It piqued both Booth and Brennan's attention. They listened more closely, as not to miss any word she would say. "I went to his land, and I built a house of candles. Corny, but, at the end of that night, we were together again. And he broke up with Rose."

It was like they almost had something great, but they lost it. What Meredith told them in the end of her story didn't lead to any motives at all. It was a happy ending kind of sort. They only stared on, and Meredith too, stared back.

"Am I free to go?" She asked, not finding herself in any conversation aymore.

Booth snapped back, "No. Now tell me about this fight you had, the day before she died."

She tensed up.

_That petty fight_. She regretted it. Now, she regretted it even more.

She slipped in her own world, and tried to playback what happened that day in the parking lot, and the hours before she burst out. Before even allowing herself, she was already telling her interrogators everything.

**_"Crap, crap. Grey get in here. Hold the clamp very still-" Arizona moved twice faster. With the pulse, temperature, and all vital stats declining, there wasn't enough time. She did as told, and stayed focused only to keeping the clamp still. Arizona worked on her own, only letting the others, Lexie and Jackson do the assisting. They too, held clamps to hold the bleeders._**

_**And then by a crappy turn of fate, something-more like-someone, bumped into her, causing her to loose a portion of her balance. The kid bled, and Meredith felt like a dam of guilt broke over her. But it wasn't her fault. "Dr. Robbins, I am very sorry-"**_

_**"Shut up, and get down to business." She remained cool in the outside, but mad. Boiling mad. After a short moments, the kid stabilized, and Meredith sighed deeply in relief. Over her shoulder she looked, and realized it was Rose. It would have been alright if she apologized, but instead, she wore a devious grin, like she planned what happened. And she was satisfied. "-Now hold the clamp very still, Grey. Try not to move it again."**_

**_She nodded, and held onto the clamp. "Yes, Dr. Robbins."_**

_**The surgery was all in all, successful. Though it was a bumpy track, at the end of the day, all that mattered is that the kid lived. But Meredith couldn't get her mind off what happened back there in the O.R. Her defeat was Rose's victory, and it irked her. But she decided to drop it. She didn't matter. Not one bit.**_

**_It was nearly six thirty, and together with Lexie and April, they decided to head home. They walked their way to the parking lot, much slower than they intended. The day's hard work took its toll on them. They were plainly drained. Across the lot, she could see two women, one had medium lengthed black hair, the other blonde. Nurse Olivia. Nurse Rose. __That bitch._**

_**"I can't believe how clumsy she got in the O.R." Meredith mumbled to herself.**_

_**As they neared her vehicle, she didn't mind mind looking at her. But she could tell, Rose was looking at her. She wouldn't have done anything to hurt her, until Rose crossed the line, by purposely blocking Lexie's way, causing her to nearly drop on the ground. She felt fury take over her. Closing Lexie behind her arm, she faced Rose, in the way she never looked at anyone before. Meredith was no furious, scandalous type.**_

_**"What's wrong with you? What's gotten into you, Rose? Were you trying to hurt Lexie?" She yelled to Rose's face, not too loud for the whole lot to hear it, but still, it was a loud shot.**_

**_Rose crossed her arms, almost ready to fight back. Though Meredith, Lexie and April didn't know why. "Yes, I just did that." She shot back, causing Meredith to really boil._**

_**Glare.**_

_**Fiery stare.**_

**_Then, it hit her. Right, the termination list. The attendings, and some senior residents came up with a list of their most uncooperative, and even the slowest nurses in the surgical floor. Rose Flack, happened to be on that list. Meredith smirked. "You're mad 'cause you're getting fired. I see how this is going now. Look at yourself. Why would we bother having you in our floor? You almost killed a kid today." Meredith shot at her, calmly, but it stabbed through the heart. "-It's not my fault you're childish. Get a life, Rose. You're getting fired anyway. I'll make sure you'd be gone."_**

_**Rose turned red, embarrassed, and mostly angry. "How dare y-"**_

**_"Let's go, Mer." Lexie cut her off, and pulled Meredith to her side._**

Booth processed. It wasn't a very strong motive for murder. To Brennan, it didn't make that much sense. A childish nurse. Meredith sat still, just because she doesn't have anything to say anymore. That was it. But the slightest motive, could still be a motive.

"You really saw to it that she'd be gone? Because she really is gone, now. Isn't she, Dr. Grey?" Booth asked.

Meredith sighed, and leaned closer so she was face to face with the agent. "I did not kill Rose Flack. I know I'm a suspect here, but you got the wrong girl."

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><p>"What did you find, Mr. Bray?" Brennan asked, while video conferencing with the Jeffersonian. Wendell held up a portion of a hand on to the camera, allowing Brennan to see the breaks. "-the bones indicate that they've been broken just hours before she died. And according to the intensity of the breaks, she punched a hard object, like a wall, or floor, anything concrete, or hard surfaces. And, Dr. Brennan, bone marks do not suggest torture."<p>

_No torture._

Brennan nodded, her interest piqued. _If she wasn't tortured, did she die accidentally?_ "Cause of death, Mr. Bray."

Wendell put the hand back on the table, and held up the skull. "I found a hole just below the ear bone-" he said, at the same time showing Brennan what he saw. "-that I suspect, pierced through the carotid artery, eventually killing her."

"That's possible, yes. Tell Hodgins to take a swab, see if we could identify the murder weapon. Great job, Mr. Bray." She bid farewell, but did not log off, noticing the strange look on the victim's nails.

_Wait._

"Mr. Bray, hold that up. The right hand." She ordered, and Wendell sprang up to her commands. He zoomed the camera to the part that she asked for, and there she saw. "-Besides the break, I see something else. The nails are somewhat punctured, and skimmed off, like she had long nails, and she scratched something, or someone, and they broke. Take high-def pictures and x-rays of the hand, and take some swabs for Hodgins."

Wendell nodded obediently, "Right away Dr. Brennan."

She logged off.

It was nearly eight in the evening, and it was 6 hours ago since she last ate something. Not eating dinner won't be that bad, she thought, but her stomach growled in protest. Booth was in the next room, and she supposed, he already ate dinner without her. He couldn't keep up with an empty stomach. The apartment they rented was cozy enough, but they could have found more luxurious hotels in the city. But Booth thought it would be much easier to investigate if they were just across the hospital.

She got off her bed, shutting down her laptop, and wore the first pair of jeans she could find. She put on a dark blue shirt, one she got in the Maluku Islands. It had her name on the back, _"Dr. Temperance Brennan_". She didn't mind combing her hair, it was perfectly tucked behind her back. With a pair of comfy heels, she made her way out.

The bar they had lunch in was just in a walking distance, and it was a pretty evening. So she chose to take a stroll. There wasn't much stars in the sky, but it didn't make any difference. On the stairs outside homes, she saw mothers, fathers, and grandparents, talking, giggling, and playing with children. Some, just talked, and just sat, but they looked happy.

_Why is it, that my life could not be like that?_

_**Your life was like that, Joy.**_ A voice registered to her mind. She looked around to see if someone was talking to her, but, there was just nobody.

_**I'm in your head, silly.**_

A chill crept up her spine. She used an old trick to shrug the voice away, counting backwards from one hundred. It distracted her, and sighed in relief, that the voice was gone. She walked faster, wanting to do just one thing. Be with Booth. At long last, she reached the bar, feeling-no,- knowing, Booth was there. He liked to socialize with potential suspects, or sometimes, plainly socialize.

Trembling, she made her way inside, easily spotting her partner on the far end of the bar, seated by the counter, talking so some woman of her age. Latina, cranky, and funny.

"Booth." She whispered from behind. She was so scared, her voice was failing her. Booth turned around, opened his mouth to welcome his partner, but closed it again at the sight before him. He took her hand, and she inched closer to him. Then he turned back to the woman he was talking to.

"I gotta go, Callie. It was nice meeting you, though. Say hello to Sofia for me."

_Booth, I'm scared._

Callie nodded, "Sure, Agent."

Brennan was shaking, though he didn't know why. He didn't get to see her like that everyday. In fact, her walls and defenses had gone down, and she was showing all. "Bones, hey, what's the matter?" He put an arm around her waist, as he led her back outside. It was too noisy, and too public to discuss anything.

_If I tell him now, he's gonna worry. It's going to cloud his judgement on the case. Not now, Temperance._

Then as if someone had turned a switch, she was back to being Brennan. That instant. "I'm...I'm fine."

Booth found an urge inside him to push through. She certainly wasn't fine. But in her state, he thought it would be best to let it go this time. "Okay, Bones." He muttered, and wrapped her around his arms. She was grateful he didn't push through. And even more grateful, that he was there for her. He had been the best partner she could ever ask for. And she swore, he'd be the only FBI agent she'd have pleasure working with.

"I will find the time to observe myself in a matter of days, and until I feel like I really am not okay, I will confide with you, Booth. You're the only person I could trust, besides Angela." Though she spoke rather scientifically, it touched Booth.

He smiled, pulling away from her. "Sure, Bones." She managed to smile back, and it didn't take long for her stomach to growl again. "-whoa, Bones. You have an angry stomach right there. Come on, I'll buy you dinner."

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><p>First thing in the morning, and Meredith came in earlier than her room mates, so she could check Lexie before heading out to rounds. She didn't take her mind off what happened yesterday. Fact is, she couldn't.<em> A murderer is on the loose, and he might hurt anyone. Not just Rose.<em>

Lexie was wide awake. She looked disoriented, her teeth clenched in pain, eyes shut tightly. "Lexie, hey." Meredith came near her, to take a closer look. She was sweating. All over her hospital gown. "-did they give you morphine already?"

"No." She mumbled. Her voice was cracked, and it was all because of the excruciating pain of her fresh wounds.

"Just stay still, I'll get you morphine. Who's your resident?"

" 'Rev." she mumbled. She was in a blur. All she could manage to think of, is the pain, and the pain only. Meredith didn't waste any more time, and called Alex. Once she got his approval, she gave Lexie morphine herself. Within minutes, she calmed down, her face back to her normal relaxed state.

_How is it possible that so much is happening in one lifetime?_


	5. Trying Times

_**Chapter Five ;)**_

_**I hope you like it. ;) Review please. Thank you!**_

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><p>All through the night, she tossed and turn. She wanted company so badly, but the digital clock on her bedside told her it wasn't appropriate. It was 4:30 in the morning. There was a some kind of force that pierced through her head, keeping her imprisoned to pain. In the past few days, she believed she heard voices. Ghosts of her past. She wanted to tell Booth, but at the same time, she didn't want to cloud his judgment on their case.<p>

_**Who'd ever love you, Temperance?**_

That voice. She swore she recognized it, but just couldn't make a face out of it. She clenched her eyes, in an attempt to shove the voice aside.

_**That's right. Keep hiding. No wonder your parents left you.**_

_**You're a coward, Temperance.**_

"Go away." She mumbled, at long last buried herself under the thick comforters.

_**For how long are you going to pretend you're a know-it-all ? You don't know anything.**_

In spite of what she believed she was, and what she really was, the voice was too powerful. It pierced through her heart. _Great, now I have a bad headache, and a broken heart. The heart really breaks._ The authority in the voice, was of someone in her past. She believed her. She used to, and she still did.

_**Oh, the boy next door's gonna leave you if he finds out about your past, honey.**_

She didn't answer.

_**He'll find another woman. Who's not as cold as you are, Temperance.**_

And somehow, Brennan really believed her. She clenched her hand into a fist, and tried to distract herself with all her might, that it was just a hallucination. Nothing more. _It's nothing, Temperance._ She was sweating terribly in spite of the cold Seattle weather. Now she was underneath the comforters, and stacks of her pillows.

_**No matter how much you try, you'll never be good enough. When you die, no one's gonna notice.**_

_**Nobody would care.**_

_**Not one person will remember you.**_

Brennan tried not to listen. But how could she not listen? When the voice was on the back of her mind? The voice was too clear to miss a word. _No, Temperance. You've gone this far. There's no way you're giving up. Count from a hundred backwards. You can do it. Do it, Temperance._

"One hundred, ninety nine, ninety eight, ninety seven, ninety six-" she whispered.

_**What are you doing, you fool?**_

And her voice came louder. "-ninety five, ninety four, ninety three, ninety two-"

_**Now that's foolish.**_

And louder. "-ninety one! ninety! eighty nine! eighty eight! eighty seven-"

She was so focused, though the voice was successful on disturbing her. Her evil laughs only making it worse. She wrapped an arm around her ears, covering it, just so she wouldn't hear anything. It didn't work. "-eighty six!, eighty five!-"

Booth woke up the sound of his partner screaming numbers from her room. Though he was in a start, he knew exactly that something wasn't right. He glanced up at the clock, it was 10 minutes before five. Brennan didn't stop screaming, and it worried him. She was never like this.

_Bones. Bones, hang in there. I'm coming out to you._

He sprang up to the floor, and ran to Brennan's room, grateful it was left unlocked, he made his way in very easily. As he turned the knob and stepped inside, he saw a curled figure on the bed. She didn't even recognize him coming. Through the thick sheets, he could see she was shaking.

"Bones, hey, Bones-" He jumped on her bed, retrieving her from under a stack of pillows and comforter. There she lied, but she really wasn't there. Her mind was somewhere else. Then he realized, it had to be a nightmare. He tapped her cheek, and she snapped back to reality. Her eyes met his, and there he saw how devastated she had become.

_Booth. _

She sat up, and swung her arms over his neck, holding onto him for dear life. He didn't have a clue what she'd been through, but it didn't matter. She was safe from any physical harm, and he wasn't going anywhere. "Ssshh, Bones. It's alright. It's all over. I'm here. Sshhh, it's fine, Bones."

He too, wrapped his arms around her. It was all that she needed. "It's just a nightmare. It won't hurt you."

"No." She croaked. It wasn't a nightmare voice sounded harsh, like she'd been crying really hard for a long time. "-No, I wasn't having a nightmare, Booth. It wasn't-no, not a nightmare. I-It..." She stuttered. It was so unlikely for her to do so, and it worried him more. She must have been through hell.

_There's a voice, Booth._

Booth only nodded. He wiped her tears away with his thumbs, and stroked strands of her hair away from her face. "Whatever it is, just tell me. a'right? I'm here." -he reassured her, and she only nodded. Deep in her eyes, when she really wasn't hiding from any sorts of defenses, he saw uncertainty. Loneliness, fear, and inferiority, all equaling to what was more dominant, pain.

"For how long, Booth?" She touched his hand over her face, and pulled it away from her. It crushed him.

_What's happening, Bones?_

He ran out of words. He was completely dumbfounded by her question, and even more shocked by her gesture. But he knew he had to find words. It was all that she needed. Reassurance. He put both his hands on her arm, and kept her really still as he wiggled his body closer to her. "For as long as you want me to stay, Bones. But if you're really asking for how long I could handle staying with you? I'd say forever. 'Kay, Bones? You can count on me."

Brennan stayed quiet.

After moments of eery silence, she nodded, with a sly smile planted on her mouth. "I'm okay." She said, her voice so low and soft, it was barely audible. She let herself collapse on to the bed, and found comfort with Booth.

"I'm okay." She repeated.

"Atta girl, of course you are." Booth chuckled, effectively hiding his concern. Sooner or later, he'd have to talk to her.

"Go back to sleep, Bones. I'll wake you up when it's time, 'kay?" He said, climbing out of her bed. Brennan sat back up quickly, and caught his arm.

"Will you stay for a minute? I-I don't find myself comfortable without any company right now." She told him, tilting her head on her side a little, and begged dearly.

Booth, at that moment concluded, she wasn't alright. He just hoped she'd confide in him sooner, or later. He would do pretty much anything for this woman. His woman. He smiled, and lied back down beside her. "Yeah Bones. Sure. C'mere."

She snuggled up against him, and his arms felt like it was where it really was supposed to be. His warmth alone, eased her tensed mind, and lulled her back to sleep.

* * *

><p>"I do not ever want patient 6654 missing any medications, more especially the painkillers. They're prescribed for a reason!" Meredith grunted at a twenty something nurse who was supposed to be in charge with Lexie. She never felt an urge to scold at someone before. But the recent events just drained all of her. It changed her, though she didn't know just how much she'd evolved...for the worse.<p>

The nurse nodded, "Yes, Dr. Grey. I'll see to it that Lexie Grey gets her medication." She looked like she was gonna cry, and Meredith felt sorry. It was the nurse's first week. And she regretted being so hard.

_Damn, I shouldn't have done that._

"I'm sorry, Gabriella. I didn't mean to reprimand, I just wanted-"

Gabriella cut her off, with a friendly smile across her face. "It's alright Dr. Grey. I have a sister too."

She left, with a handful of medications on a tray, and to keep her reminded of patient 6654's meds, she marked them red, when all others were transparent. Meredith chuckled.

"Why so happy?" Derek sneaked up from behind, and she nearly jumped by the sound of his voice, popping out of nowhere. She turned, startled. "Sorry to startle you, are you okay?"

She hesitated, "Y-yeah, o'course. Why wouldn't I?"

He sighed. The other night, she was the last to sleep, and the very first to go into duty. And Lexie was just one of her excuses. "Mer..." he whispered, with the most romantic smile he could handle, and put a hand on her cheek. "It's gonna be alright, 'kay? We're not getting deeper into this mess. We're not in this mess, okay?"

_I trust you, Derek._

Meredith felt convinced in some way. He had that magic on her. She smiled back, and let herself slip under his arms. "Yeah, we're okay."

* * *

><p>"Her nails are disheveled. In this case, I am certain that our victim scratched something, shortly before her death. Or someone." Brennan explained to camera of her laptop. "Has Cam found enough DNA from the nails?"<p>

Clark stepped in, "Yes. With very little DNA samples, Dr. Saroyan said it was from this lady here..." He held up a picture. Brennan knew her. She was at the cafeteria when they first got to Seattle. "...Lexie Caroline Grey."

Meredith's sister. Rose attacked her.

"It's starting to come into picture now."-she said, while at the same time, trying to put an image together in her mind. She thought deeper, and deeper.

**_Oh stop thinking. You're no good at it._**

Damn, not now. She was tired, exhausted, and the last thing she could handle is a voice from nowhere popping out during work. She closed her eyes as tight as they could be.

"Dr. Brennan?" Cam, noticing her unusual gesture, asked her.

**_That's right. You're showing these smart people how foolish you really are, Temperance._**

"Dr. Brennan?" She repeated, only louder. And Brennan was thankful it brought her back to reality.

She shook her head, pressing a hand on a particular part. "Good job, Mr. Clark. Please inform us if you find anything."

And without looking at Cam's reaction, she logged off.

She didn't need, or want anyone speculating any soon.

_**They're better off without you. Come on, you really think you are the best?**_

Evil laugh.

"I-I don't remember you." She whispered.

**_Of course you don't. You're forgetful. You forget things._**

"I'm intellegent." She said, and tried to convince herself with the truth, and what she believed in. And it scared her, that it seemed to be fading away bit by bit. "I am the best in my field. NO ONE, could take that away from me. Do you understand?"

Laugh.

**_Oh please, Temperance. You're not what you believe you are. You're stupid. You don't even have true friends. You're cold. Who would want a friend who couldn't comfort them, huh?_**

"Stop, stop, stop." She begged, burying her face against her palms. Desperation dominated her.

**_Ponder on that smarty pants. And you don't even notice how much they hated having you with them. You're selfish. Insensitive. And that guy? Well, he's gonna leave you._**

"NO!" She yelled, with all her might, letting go of the last inch of her patience.

Booth rushed inside, with the same look he had on his face about four hours ago. "Bones?" He ran to her side, and this time, she made no efforts in seeking his comfort.

"I'm...I'm fine Booth." She said, and tried to sound like herself, but she obviously failed in doing so. Booth stared, though he wasn't the calculated type of person, he studied her.

"Booth, stop that. I'm okay."

He sighed. "Who were you talking to, Bones?"

She shrugged.

"We have to interrogate Dr. Shepherd now." She stood, and packed her laptop. He reached for her hand, but she immediately stopped him. "Booth, please. Don't worry about me!"

He lifted his hands in the air, indicating surrender. "Bones, okay. Sure, no problem. A'right? Just chill, 'kay? And I'm here. I'll always be here."

Brennan only stared at the wall behind Booth. "I am fine, Booth. Just please, "-she shook her head, drifting her gaze to the floor-"We have work to do."

* * *

><p>The room was a whole new different place. It used to be warm, and it had many memories of him and Meredith. On call rooms seemed to be a place for love making in the hospital. He smirked, looking around the tightly secured area. It was nothing now but cold. Dim lighted, and very quiet.<p>

Soon enough, Booth and Brennan arrived. He greeted them with a smile, and the agent smiled back in return. He didn't expect more from the woman. She was always the rigid one. Though today, she seemed so bothered. So off. Derek could tell.

"When was the last time you saw Rose?" Booth asked quickly upon joining his seat.

"Last Thursday, morning. In surgery." He admitted. "I was called to assist in Dr. Robbins' patient who had a tumor on his temporal lobe. Rose worked in Pediatrics."

Booth nodded, "Alright. And after that, you haven't seen her again?"

"Hmm, in the parking lot. On my way home. And that was it." Derek said, calm as a still water. He watched his interrogators exchange looks. Then they whispered into each other, not a smile on their faces.

Then Booth sighed, "Where were you on Thursday midnight up to the early morning hours on Friday?"

Derek sat still, stunned. That morning he went to the hospital, there was a 911, and when he got there, the other doctors already handled the crisis. "Two in the morning,-" He spoke, and Booth and Brennan was quite piqued.

"-I went to the hospital. I was paged for 911, but when I got there the residents already had my patient stabilized. So I went home."

"On what time?" Brennan intervened.

_Great, now they have a reason to dig deeper._

"5:30 in the morning." Derek said, and he knew he wasn't in any good shape to these people. "I stopped by a coffee shop, the best in Seattle. It was about 15 minutes from the hospital."

Booth nodded, and he looked convinced, but deep down, he really wasn't. Not one bit.

"Her sister's here too. Beatrice Flack. You might want to talk to her." Derek suggested. "She's my patient."

He took a moment to check the file folders, and Derek proved to be correct. He glanced at him, nodding in appreciation. Though at first, he didn't see a point in talking to the sister. "Thanks, doc." He muttered. He looked over her shoulders, and was worried by the image before him. Brennan, was trembling again.

Her hands were shaking pretty badly, and she was sweating terribly. Derek too, noticed it, but found no urge in trying to bring her back. It was none of his business. Booth clasped his hand on to hers from under the table, and squeezed it tightly.

Nothing.

"Bones." He whispered, while it was Derek's turn to investigate.

Nothing.

**_That's right. Now you're more stupid than ever. Look at that neuro surgeon. He's studying you._**

"Dr. Brennan." Derek said out loud, his voice shook the walls like a thousand earthquakes. She snapped back to reality, clueless of her environment. She stared at him rather coldly. "I'm sorry for that." He apologized.

_Hallucinations? _Derek thought.

Booth nodded, "Yeah, you can go now. We'll talk to you again in some time." Hesitantly, Derek left, with something to ponder on. Booth turned back to Brennan, and said to himself, this would be the last time she'd ignore him.

"We should talk, Bones."


	6. It's A Blur

Chapter Six ;)

_**Blur, And All A Blur**_

_**Review, please ;) Anything you have to say. Criticisms are welcome too. 3 **_

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><p>Meredith became used to be the early bird of the house. She went to work earlier than anyone else, and she just sat by Lexie the whole time she was there, making sure she had her medications. Today she did the same thing. Watched Lexie sleep, wake up, on and off for the next few hours. Past seven, five minutes before rounds, Brennan and Booth came.<p>

"Dr. Brennan?" Meredith asked as her way of greeting. "You need anything?"

Booth nodded, and stepped inside. "We need to talk to Dr. Lexie Grey."

Meredith nodded, and woke Lexie from her deep sleep. She woke up in a start, unaware of her surroundings. She was in a blur, because of all th drugs they pushed through inside her. "erm..." She croaked, and looked around the room.

"Alone." Booth added, looking at Meredith. She came hesitant. "We won't be long." He said, reassuring her. Meredith let go, and left Lexie with the FBI guys.

Lexie tried with all her might to sit up. With so much courage, she eventually did. "What do you need me for, Agent?"

Booth sat on her bedside, Brennan on the other. "We need to see your scratches." Brennan abruptly ordered.

"What?You mean, stitches?" Lexie grew confused, and got defensive when Brennan tried to reach for her gown. She pushed her hand away, not trusting her fresh wounds with a harsh person, just like how Brennan seemed. "Wait..." She stretched an arm towards her, stopping Brennan from making any contact with her. "I'll do it myself, okay? What's the rush?"

Brennan looked at Booth, and her eyes told him she was getting impatient. Lexie then pulled her gown up, showing them stitches from her very recent surgery. Right above the perfectly closed up stitches, were healing scratches, caused by Rose's nails.

"This." Brennan reached a finger to the scratches, and noticed how Lexie squirmed at her gesture. She realized it was her surgical wounds she was worried about. Not the murder related wounds. "I wouldn't hurt you, Dr. Grey."_ I'm not a bad person_. Brennan told her, implying her apology. "I'm not going to hurt you." She repeated, but this time it carried a whole new different meaning.

Booth glanced at her, and once again, tried to read beyond what Brennan only wanted them to see. She glared back in return, and went back to examining Lexie. She cleared her throat, "We found traces of your DNA in Rose Flack's nails. Did she cause these marks on your abdomen?"

Lexie sat still for a few minutes. "Yeah." She admitted hesitantly. She trembled, and began to sweat. Booth then stood, and sat on her bed, so they were merely inches away from each other. On the other hand, Brennan closed the blinds to separate them from the bystanders outside. "We just have to keep our voices low."

"Dr. Grey, can you account to us what exactly happened that night?"

Lexie swallowed a huge lump in her throat, and told Booth and Brennan how she ended up with the scratches.

"I was paged for the night..." She started.

**The air was thin, and it was relatively freezing. She was resting peacefully on her bed, when her pager came off abruptly. It was close to her ear, so she woke to her senses right away. She took a moment to read the page, it was her patient, 911. Must be crashing, so she had to move faster than her usual self. She put on the first jeans she could find, paired with a clean shirt fresh from the laundry. She immediately put on her rubber shoes, and grabbed her car keys.**

**As quickly as she could, she sprang to the hall, and found Derek hurrying just like her. He too, made his way to his car, and took off to the hospital as soon as the engines allowed him to. She drove carefully, as not to put herself as a bait for accidents. Merely five minutes later, she parked on the emergency bay, and made her way inside the hospital.**

**"Dr. Lexie Grey!" Nurse Olivia called, with some sort of chart in her hand.**

**Lexie turned to her. "What? I have a patient, Nurse Olivia."**

**Olivia stopped her from hurrying, and handed her the chart. "It's all okay. We revived her with CPR. She's back, but so not out of the woods." Lexie sighed in relief, but then she thought she couldn't really celebrate much. Her patient was still very sick. And dying.**

**"Right, okay. So uhm, you gave her two of morphine?"**

**Olivia nodded. "Yeah. She's been complaining of pain all night."**

**She glanced at her watch, it was just 2:25 in the morning. She'd pay for a few more hours of sleep. Nothing and no one would stop her. But before she left, she made a stop to the resident's lounge, to change into something she wore the other day so she could leave the clean ones in her cubby and wash the dirty one.**

**All along Lexie thought she was alone. But she really wasn't. Soon she heard footsteps coming towards her, and when she turned around, there she saw Rose. She didn't even feel the slightest feeling of awkwardness even she was half naked, halfway through in changing.**

**"What are you doing here?" Lexie asked, backing up from a very aggresive Nurse Rose. "Rose, what's the matter with you?"**

**_You're crazy. _**

**Rose chuckled, "Don't play dumb, Lexie. I know what you told Mark Sloan."**

**"I was giving him my opinion, Rose. Nothing personal." Lexie was then ready to fight back. She dropped the shirt to the bench, proudly showing Rose a part of her that she's been proud of. "Meredith's right. You're childish, immature for the most part. And you wonder why the attendings chose to write your name on that list, on the very first number."**

**Rose's blood boiled, while Lexie's stirred. She lifted a hand up, as if she was going to slap Lexie. But she caught Rose's hand, and brought it down to her stomach's level. "Stop right there, Rose." Lexie warned.**

**"No way." Rose insisted, and took a good grip of Lexie's hand, trying to free herself. By accident, when she was pulling her hand away from Lexie, her nails came in close, tingling contact with the skin of Lexie's abdomen, leaving a few marks behind. Lexie squirmed a little, and let Rose go.**

**"Go to hell, Rose!" She yelled.**

**Rose stepped back, and glared at her. "You shouldn't even be involved with the decision making, Lexie. You're a junior resident. I worked here longer than you do. You're a baby, and I am getting fired. You go to hell."**

**Lexie sighed, and sprayed alcohol all over the scratches so infection wouldn't be a problem she'd have to deal with, and put on her clothes. She then came back home. There was still a lot of time for sleeping and resting.**

"...and I went home. I chose sleep over early morning cases. I was tired." Lexie said, ending her story with a sigh. Booth nodded, and looked at Brennan.

"Really, cause as what I have heard around here, you're one of those..." Booth trailed off, recalling the exact word Dr. Bailey once told him. "...surgery hungry suck ups."

Lexie grinned proudly. "Yeah, sure I am." She raised an eyebrow, accentuating boast. "That day I performed six surgeries. Each surgery lasted three hours at the minimum."

Brennan smiled, impressed with Lexie's dedication to work."That's quite impressive, Dr. Grey."

_You're damn right._"Hardcore, Dr. Brennan."

Booth cleared his throat, "Except for you, and your sister, do you know anyone who held grudges with Rose Flack?" Booth asked, breaking the bond between the two smart people.

Lexie stared at a distance, digging deeper into her photographic memory. "I...I don't know. I must tell you, most of us surgeons didn't like her. And rumor has it, that the nurses hated her too." She grunted in sheer detestation, recalling her surgeries with Rose. "She was a bitch, sorry. Rose."

"Once, we were on a seminar..." Lexie stated, squinting her eyes as she spoke. Booth looked at Brennan, and chuckled. A squint, of course. "...all of us, nurses and surgeons, and physicians. I was sitting next to Mark, in my front was Arizona and Callie, behind me, Meredith, Derek, Cristina and Owen, on my other side April, Dr. Bailey, Teddy, Jackson and another woman I just saw. Rose was 5 rows ahead of us, sitting right next to Olivia, and the other nurses, whom she didn't like, and hated her as well. She wore this red and white shirt we wore on a rally, her hair tied behind her back. Sternly, we watched her stand, and sit again, leave the room, come back, and leave again, over and over. It was irrational. She was a professional for God's sake."

Lexie grunted. Brennan put on a smile across her face, indicating she was indeed, impressed. "Photographic memory. Erm, when was that?"

"Uhh, the Monday before she got killed. On the very same day-afternoon-the termination list was made."

Booth nodded, "Right. Alright, thanks Dr. Grey. We'll get back to you. Thanks for the time. Come on Bones, chop chop..." Brennan inched closer to him, and his hand made its way to the small of her back upon exit. "We have to go."

* * *

><p>As the days went by, and as soon as the FBI guys had not interrogated her yet again, Meredith felt somehow relieved, when she doesn't have anything to worry about in the first place, well of course except for the murderer on the loose. But she started to eat heavy meals again, and getting her appetite back to herself was a good sign of well being.<p>

But when she heard about Lexie, being the prime suspect at the moment, her world turned upside down again. Whether it was true or not, she couldn't believe that Lexie would do such thing. She wasn't the murderer type of person. And Derek, well they were still questioning his whereabouts on that midnight when Rose died.

_Why can't she just die peacefully._

With a canister of coffee on one hand, her mind meandered while seated on the nurses lobby. Alex sat beside her, and Cristina on the other. If Goerge and Izzie was here, she'd have enough positive nuggets to at least, keep her going.

"I miss George and Izzie." She said out of the blue. Cristina and Alex turned to her. "Don't you?" Meredith looked at Alex.

Alex let out a small nod, "Yeah, kind of."

"I haven't heard of Izzie since last year." Cristina added, while she munched on oven fresh cookies she bought at a pastry shoppe from the side of her apartment. "Wonder if she's breathing just fine."

"Cristina!" Meredith squealed, as to warn her dark and twisty soul mate about the words that just come out of her lips mindlessly. "Of course she's fine. She sends emails every once in a while."

Alex chuckled rather, sarcastically. "Yeah right. Sending you pictures of her travels and crap. Is she even practicing? Bet not."

"No, she's enjoying life, Alex." Meredith defended. "She seems to be having all the fun in the world."

Sigh.

"I want that. And we, are stuck here in some kind or prison, cops walking around like live cameras. It's absurd."

"Blame it on Rose."-said Cristina.

He nodded, "She died, and left a stain on the hospital."

Meredith again, grunted. "We'll never..." she trailed off, as memories of the day of the shooting flooded back all of the sudden. "...never ever be the same again."

Silence.

Silence.

Brennan passed by, looking so lost. Cristina, took the initiative to offer a helping hand. "Dr. Brennan? You lost?" Cristina asked, leaning against the freshly painted maple counter. Brennan shook her head, "No. Looking for Dr. Shepherd..."

Cristina then turned and pointed at Meredith, "She's a Shepherd."

Meredith stood, "About the murder case?"

"No." Brennan, again shook her head. Apparently, she wasn't the Shepherd she was looking for. "Derek Shepherd. I'm looking for him." Meredith nodded, and checked something in her PDA. "Well, right now he's in surgery..." she told Brennan, while she checked on Derek's schedule. "...but you can wait outside the OR. Think it'd be alright."

Brennan, who looked so desperate in finding Derek, nodded. "Thank you. Will you show me the way?" Meredith again, checked her schedule. She was free for the next two hours. "Of course." She said, leaving Cristina and Alex to show Brennan the way. She couldn't help but wonder why Brennan wanted to see Derek. Not about the murder, so what is this about?

_Is she sick?_

The hospital wasn't so crowded, but they both didn't feel any rush of walking at high speed. Just when they were about to make a turn for the elevator, Brennan stopped her. "Can we take the stairs?"

_Why the stairs?_ But Meredith found no harm in climbing up to the OR floor. "Uhm...sure." she agreed immediately. The stairs would take more time, though.

Halfway through the first stairwell, Brennan broke their eery silence. "You and Dr. Shepherd, you're married, right?" Meredith looked over her shoulder, curious on where their conversation was heading.

_This about Derek? Or, Agent Booth?_

She smiled, and nodded. "Yeah, just recently."

Silence.

Silence, just footsteps.

And it was then Meredith's turn to break in. Since she started getting personal, she thought maybe it would be fine if she dug deeper. "You and Agent Booth, a couple?"

"No!" She gave an abrupt answer. "We're not...he's not...I'm...I'm not-"

_Right. There you go. _

"Ahh, I see where this is heading." Meredith let loose, and mocked secretly at Brennan. "I was just like you, six years ago."

Brennan wrinkled her nose, "No." and objected. "It is clear that we are not the same. I am apparently, more intelligent and successful than you are. Were you an anthropologist six years ago, Dr. Grey? I am..."

"Emotionally?" Meredith stopped her. "You're quite literal, huh? Well, Derek was my boss. He still is. We were not allowed to date or whatever. Just like you and Agent Booth. Let me guess, you're holding back feelings for each other. Maybe there was a time when one of you confessed your true feelings, but the other isn't ready." Meredith smiled, shaking her head as she relived 'those' days. "Another guy, or a woman got in the way too?"

_Hannah Burley._ Brennan thought, and smiled at herself for thinking that Hannah was a distraction. _She was a good friend._

"...it's close, Dr. Brennan. My mother, it felt like she abandoned me. I grew up with her but it didn't feel like she was really there. I was afraid to love. You can't love without hurting, Dr. Brennan. I am a flawed woman, just like you."

_I am afraid to love._ And Brennan thought, her parents abandoning her had something to do about that.

Brennan snorted in disgust. "That doesn't make..."

"Of course it does. Derek waited until I was ready. He never left." She smiled, going back to the times when Derek stayed really patient with her. He always came along. "Agent Booth, seems like you have the good thing in your hands. Sometimes, flaws aren't weaknesses, Dr. Brennan."

Brennan paid close attention, like she was starting to take it all in. They reached the outside of the OR, and they stood opposite to each other, their hands buried on to their coats. "It's a strength. Makes you who you are."

Brennan chuckled.

"That doesn't make any sense logically, but by looking at the logic of love and feelings..." Brennan trailed off, shaking her head with a grin. "...that makes sense."

Meredith nodded and returned a smile. "So you're here. He'll be out in twenty minutes for the least. It was nice meeting you, Dr..."

"Brennan." She cut her off. "Brennan's fine."

By the end of the conversation, Brennan felt that she had learned something that couldn't be taught by science. Love is about breaking the laws of science. She smiled to herself, she might have found a new friend, even after their case would end. There's no way Meredith could have killed Rose. She sat alone on a fiber glass bench outside the OR. In a matter of thirty minutes, finally Derek came out of the OR. He walked the other way around, not noticing her.

Brennan stood, and kept up with Derek's pace. "Dr. Shepherd." She called, effectively stopping her. When he turned to see her, she saw fear, uncertainty. "No, no. It's not about the case, Dr. Shepherd."

"Oh." Derek sighed in relief, and a smile crept up his delicate features. "How can I help you, Dr. Brennan?"

She inched closer, "First and foremost, you are not to tell anyone about any of this, Dr. Shepherd. Not even my partner, Booth. This has to stay between us." She said, applying what she had learned from Booth about eye contact. "Can I trust you?"

Derek thought, this had something to do with her odd gestures during his interrogation. He nodded, "Of course."

"Good. I need you to look inside my brain. I have been hearing voices lately. I don't see apparitions. None of these had happened before. I suspect it's a tumor. You are very good at your job, and I know you can have a clear, and accurate reasons for what I am going through right now."


	7. Secrets, Secrets, and More Secrets

**Chapter Seven **

**_-oOo-_**

**_Everyday is a struggle between what I wanna say And what I should keep to myself And the words that manage to leave my lips Don't hurt me, but they hurt everyone else._**

**_-oOo-_**

The MRI took longer than she had anticipated. Now she had to deal with a questioning Booth, if he was ever at their apartment. She barely saw him during the day, and hoped it would stay that way until she gets back and pretend she was asleep. The lights were off, and it was pin drop quiet. No Booth. She sighed, though she wasn't sure if she didn't really need him. Cause at the same time, a part of her seeked a some kind of comfort, that comforting feeling Booth always filled, without even trying.

_No way Booth finds out about the scans. I have to send him back to D.C. But how? He'd stay for sure. He'd always be there._

She was in the middle of making up a alibi to send Booth home after the case, and looking for food in the fridge when Booth came unnoticed. He immediately saw her by the kitchen, her back arched forward, desperate for anything to eat without going out of the apartment. Luckily, he knew this would happen, and brought some chinese food on his way back.

"Hey Bones, what'cha doin there?"

She jumped to her feet, and turned to him, with a hand on her chest. "Booth." She mumbled. "-just looking for food." she pointed out, to the nearly empty fridge.

Booth chuckled, and placed the cellophane on top of the counter. "I bought you food. I thought you'd be out here looking for some. It's chinese." He pushed it across the cold granite tile. Brennan caught it from the other side, and smiled in appreciation. _How am I supposed to kick him out?_

"Thank you. I appreciate it." _I really do._

"There's coffee in there too. Known to be the best in Seattle."

She chuckled, "Well let's see." She took a sip, carefully, as not to burn her taste buds, and nodded in admiration. "It's wonderful. You know, it's quite irritating that we're making very slow progress in this case."

Because there was too much to be dealt with, except for the Rose Flack case. Booth sensed there was another vibe in it, cause she never had to hurry before. She was factual, and no non-sense, but he knew he enjoyed solving cases with him. _Had she lost interest? _Booth thought.

_"We'll never know. Maybe tomorrow it's all going to be over." Booth said, a part of him reassuring her. "I uhh, gotta go to bed, Bones. So _tired. Just finish your food there, okay?

Brennan nodded, "Yeah, sure. Goodnight, Booth."

He then made his way to his bedroom, and didn't appear again. Brennan sighed in huge relief. While eating the noodles Booth brought her, she continued on thinking about her options. To let him go, and deal with whatever was it alone, or to tell Booth the truth, and he could decide for himself whether he should stay or go back to D.C.

The second option sounded pretty good. She'd have nothing to lose. Well, not if Booth would choose to stay.

* * *

><p>It had been one of the easy days. Not much emergency cases, but they had their equal shares of surgeries. Meredith couldn't stop thinking about everything. Lexie would be released tonight, and she had to stay home for at least a month. She imagined how itchy her sister would get about surgeries and sutures and all that hospital stuff.<p>

Derek sat all afternoon in the attendings lounge, staring and studying Brennan's scans. She tried to eavesdrop, but it surely didn't work. He was loyal to his promise, because if he told anyone, it might put his career to such unnecessary risk. So she let her do his thing. _Whatever, the ground has ears, the news have wings_. She would know.

She dropped by, for the umpteenth time in the last two hours. She leaned against the door, and watched him for a while. It seemed like he hadn't moved at all. When he didn't notice her, she cleared her throat.

"You coming home?"

Derek looked up, and met her gaze, then he looked back at the scans.

"Yeah. I'll take these home with me." He mumbled under his breath, at the same time, stuffed the scans in a huge sized brown envelope. Meredith nodded, and stared on.

"Why are you staring like that?" He asked, feeling her heavy stare on his shoulder. Meredith smiled a little, and inched closer to him, now that he was done hiding the scans from her. "I just, you know. Want to see those scans. Be on this case?"

She flickered her eyes on him, using her advantage to get the case. He smirked, absolutely having an idea of she was doing. Derek cupped her face, kissing her briefly. She returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around her broad, masculine shoulders. As when the kiss was about to get deeper and heated, Meredith pulled away.

"What do you think?"

Derek smirked his best, "I'll think about it." He said, and watched her frown in disgust. Derek got on his romantic foot, and shoved a few strands of hair that disturbed her porcelain features, taking it behind her ear. "I just think this is not like any other cases. Dr. Brennan's literaly a person we should be careful with. She's very good at her field of expertise. Like Harper Avery of forensic anthropology. She asked for confidentiality. We should take that seriously."

She listened, closely. Meredith got to his point, "Alright." She nodded, sighing. "-Alright, you win, but..." she trailed off, and put a finger on his lips. "How sick is she?"

Derek shook his head, all the while, grinning. When Meredith didn't change her expression, he knew she was serious. He found no harm in telling her that simple detail, so he spoke.

"Her insides doesn't look as good as she looks in the outside. I wouldn't be sitting here for hours if she is fine. She's sick." -no longer smiling. He turned serious, just as concerned as her. He could tell with her eyes, that she somehow cared. She always cared about patients. "And I'm worried for any support systems. She doesn't want anyone to know. She wouldn't have a support system, and that just makes it worse."

"Oh." Meredith let out. Poor Brennan.

But it was none of their businesses, after all. They were doctors, not social workers. "Let's go get Lexie. She's going to be discharged tonight." Meredith muttered, turning her back to the door.

"By the way, what did they ask Lexie?" He asked, halfway through gathering his personal things.

Meredith sighed, "She's a suspect. They think Lexie killer her. Her DNA is found in Rose's nails. How close is that, huh."

"Well..." Derek said, and grabbed her waist. "...she's gonna get through this. It's not her fault Rose scratched her."

They emerged into the hallway, walking side by side. Meredith nodded, and agreed with what Derek told her as his reassurance. "How about you? Are they still questioning your whereabouts on the midnight?"

He shook his head, "No. They went to the coffee shop. Mrs. Lucinda proved me correct. Besides, why would I kill Rose?"

It felt as though a prick was finally off her shoulder. She eventually felt much, much lighter. Pretty sure, Lexie would be out of the woods soon, too. And everything, would get back to normal. Bit by bit. The on call rooms would be restored, by then. Lexie was all ready and fresh looking by the time they reached her room. The early mornings Meredith spent with her weren't for nothing. It literaly paid off. It wasn't only for Lexie's sake, but for hers too. When Lexie slept, Meredith slept by her bedside, thus slipping into a light sleep.

"Ready." Lexie said upon their entrance. "Wish I could just walk, but I almost got down on my feet trying to reach the lobby."

She shook her head, thinking of how silly she was.

"You shouldn't have done that. You lost an organ, remember?" Meredith accentuated, while at long last, signed the discharge papers. Derek volunteered taking the small bag with Lexie's stuffs, all the while, helping her to her feet.

"I'll miss surgery." Lexie mumbled mindlessly, and sighed. She put an arm around Meredith's arm, ready to leave the premises.

"Well, you're lucky to not see the ongoing case. Have you seen the cops? They're everywhere. You get to stay home, and rest." Meredith said, slowly walking with Lexie out of the hospital.

Derek grinned, "I'm sure Lexie chooses cops over soda crackers."

"I sure do!" Lexie agreed, her voice soft and low, as not to really affect her internal cuts. "Though I was wondering where Mark is."

Meredith tilted her head, so she was half facing Lexie while they walked their way out. "What, he didn't tell you?"

She grew confused.

"About what?"-Lexie asked.

"He went to New York. Hmmh, Tuesday. Two days ago." Meredith explained. When she watched Lexie's face drop, Meredith felt a pang of guilt had just punch her in the gut. "-well, I am pretty sure he has a reason to not let you know. Right, Derek?"

She looked at Derek, pleading to ride on her game of cheering Lexie up. He smiled, "Yes, I know Mark."

"When is he coming back?"

-"I don't know." Meredith answered.

Silence.

Then Lexie mumbled, just enough for the others to make it out with her lips. "He always told me where he would go."

Oh, stupid. Sloane's college plans. She smirked, "Oh, I remember now. He said something about his daughter's college plans. Sloane."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Ring. Ring. Ring.<em>**

Booth waited patiently, and anxiously. Brennan had acted weird enough. He had the neuro guy's number, and so he tried to reach him. For once and for all, whether Brennan was hiding something, he was going to find out, one way or another. That night, he hadn't been to the bar, or anywhere else. He stayed at their apartment, until at such time, Brennan wasn't there yet. She always found her way back early. Or if not, he always knew where she went. He summed up all the strange things she had acted, and it only equaled to one thing. Something was definitely wrong.

**_Ring. Ring._** "Shepherd." -Derek finally answered.

Booth cleared his throat, "Hey doc. This is Booth, I ahh-need to talk to you."

"Alright?" his voice fell, and he tensed up.

"It's not about the case..." Booth said, not sure of how he should go on.

Derek took the hint, but listened anyway.

"...it's about my partner. She told me everything..."

_She told me nothing. I'm sorry, Bones_.

If she really checked herself with Dr. Shepherd, he would open up to Booth thinking Brennan really let him knew. But if not, only better. Meaning, she wasn't strange enough to not see someone, knowing she was having twists and turns with her mind. "...but I want you to tell me the rest."

Careless as a duck, Derek believed him. "She has two pressing tumors, on her temporal and frontal lobe. She's very sick, Agent Booth. Tomorrow, or sooner, I'd like to discuss..."

But he only heard, **Bones has a brain tumor**.

Before Derek could finish off, he interrupted. "Look, doc. I don't want you to tell Bones that I know all this." He could hear Derek swallow a lump in his throat. He certainly didn't expect the tough, no nonsense looking FBI guy would trick him for information. "Please, doc. Man to man agreement. And you'll let me know more."

"Agent Booth, she..."

He sighed. "Are we clear?"

He could lose his career. Both of their careers. But to Booth, it was a risk worth taking. He just wished Derek would think the same.

"Agent Booth, my career is at stake here."

"So is mine. It's just..." Booth trailed off, thinking of more convincing things to present. "...what If your wife has a tumor, and doesn't want you to know. But you need to know. You want to be there, but she won't let you? Wouldn't you do the same thing?"

His statement was convincing enough. Though he hoped it took Derek by the gut.

_Now that was convincing, but came out wrong. Bones is just my partner. The best partner in the world._

Silence.

Silence.

"Fine." Derek answered briefly.

Booth exhaled deeply. "Thank You." And hang up.

Though the thought of his 'Bones' having two, very dangerous tumors scared him to hell.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN I knooow this chapter sucks. But bear with me! I have a clear conclusion in mind. Next chapter, no murder talks, plainly B&B & MerDer plots ;)_**

**_Please review! They make my day, and I'm not even kidding! 3_**


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